British Culture Minister Defends Its Decision as 1 Million Dollar Fine Clouds Wimbledon, Following Russian and Belarusian Ban

In February this year, the long-lived political tensions between Russia and Ukraine took the form of a full-fledged conflict. The entire world came to a standstill as the situations scrambled peacetime. Amidst every sector taking initiatives, tennis also participated. Though, the Wimbledon Championships went a step ahead and banned players of concerned nations.

Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players received heavy backlash. And when organizers decided to stand firm on their decision, ATP stripped off the event’s ranking points. However, that wasn’t the end of the counter-actions the tournament would face.

The Wimbledon Championship is up for a huge fine

Although the organizers of the tournament have already stated their intentions and the reason behind the ban, it didn’t please the regulatory bodies. Therefore, after slamming Wimbledon with no ranking points, the tennis associations have imposed a fine which sums up to?around?1 million dollars.

However, British Culture Minister Nadine Dorries believes that the ban should receive praise instead of being ridiculed. As the ban shows Britain’s support for Ukraine in the conflict. She?said,??Unfortunately, the international tennis federations appear to be determined in this regard. The LTA and Wimbledon are to be commended for their step in making Russia an international sports pariah, and for doing what is right in the current circumstances.?

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Further, the WTA has secretly fined LTA and All England?clubs?620,000 dollars and 207,000 dollars respectively as a punishment for excluding the concerned nations’ players from warm-up events in Eastbourne, Nottingham, and Birmingham.

The US Open’s decisions

Wimbledon’s actions came as a shock for the tennis fraternity as no other earlier major event took such extreme decisions. Though the Australian Open and the French Open restricted Russian and Belarusian players from playing under their nation’s flags. They provided a platform for them to showcase their skills; Thus leaving only the US Open to take a stand.

Recently, with few months from the tournament. The USTA announced that the tournament, unlike Wimbledon, will act host to players from Russia and Belarus.

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Hence the defending champion and World No.1 Daniil Medvedev will have a chance to win a consecutive title. And 2021 semifinalists Aryna Sabalenka can seek a run till the finals.